Eagle Asset Management Inc. Has $25.99 Million Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 30.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,628 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 62,610 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.24% of Woodward worth $25,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 101.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 2nd quarter valued at $69,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total value of $1,745,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,008,669.50. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,913 shares of company stock worth $4,907,304. Insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WWD. StockNews.com cut shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.67.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $176.05 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.46 and a fifty-two week high of $188.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $167.60 and a 200-day moving average of $170.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.72%.

Woodward Company Profile

Woodward, Inc designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft.